Syntech Properties Family Day 2007

Date : 19 May 07 till 20 May 07
Destination : Casa Del Mar Beach Resort
Location : 3 hours drive from Cebu City

I luv this year family day than last year becoz the games are more interesting (thanks to our creative sales team) and the presents are more memorable (thanks to the construction team...Yippee...my team)... Also, we nearly booked the whole resort so practically the resort is ours for the weekend and they do not impose curfew....

I got dark due to almost 3 hrs in the sea kayaking.... I grap almost all my male colleague to kayak with me knowing i do not have the strength to do kayak for long.... During low tide, my senior and myself walked to the sea to see some marine creatures like starfish, corals, etc....

Enjoy the pix.....

Solo Taiwan Trip - 3rd Day

I set off the same time as previous day... This time my destination is to the Northeast Coast. Means of transport is by bus.... As usual, i was early so i just go to Macdonald for breakfast....

Met a malaysian who is working there for a few months so he also travels during weekend.... Nice person who offered his help when he saw he keep on looking at the bus-route board....

1st stop is Nanya which is another rock formation place. It is the first tourist attraction place that obvoiusly have been ignored by the tourism authority.... After taking pictures, next stop is Fu-shan where there is another place on rock formation. Rock formation is present in Taiwan since it is along the coast and it is along the South China Sea....

The worst part getting there is i got to take a train and there is no map to direct me.... You dnt even knw the route of the train so i just got to open my mouth and ask the conductor. He just say follow the time given then you just hop on the train....

After that, i thought of going to the gold mine area but was getting a bit edgy due to endless waiting and rushing to meet up the train schedule so i decided to end back to Taipei....

Heading back is another story... I cannot afford to doze off since i always checked every passed station with my map... There is one stop where you need to change train to Taipei which of coz i don't know until i saw everyone getting down and my sixth sense asked me to ask the conductor....

I was relieved when i reach Taipei in one piece.... Last stop is to ximending which is a well known shopping area.... Bought myself a pair of shoes and a bag that cost ard $110....

Overall, this trip is a whole new experience for me where i have a chance to interact with Taiwanese. Hopefully next time i have a chance to go to Alishan and Sun Moon Lake.....

Solo Taiwan Trip - 2nd Day

Date : 12 May 07

Since i wake up early for prayers and i have absolutely no sense of direction which leaves a tendency on losing way, i decided to set off early ard 6am....

First destination is Yang Ming Shan which is located on the Northcoast of Taipei. I took MRT and public bus to get there. While in the bus, heard a group of youngsters that are very curious about me. Amongst that group was one guy that knows i am a Malay and a Muslim. Maybe he is a Malaysian... Overheard him telling his friends in chinese that he want to talk to me in malay since he have not been practicing it for years.... Seriously, i never expected such reactions just because i wear headscarf... Well, he did not approach me and neither am i bothered...

I was early... I wanted to go to their visitor's centre to ask for direction and they open at 9am... So i went to their park which is a long walk and i am pretty tired already....

Next stop is to Xiaoyoughen where it releases fumes from the ground... Nice place with mountains and nature... I bet the view is nicer during spring.... Then i went to grasslands where the whole place is really nothing but grass and walked almost 2 hours in the jungle just to see their waterfall which obviously was not fantastic.... Well... at least i managed to take a few nice shots in the jungle..

Then when i had enuf of Yangmingshan, i decided to travel further to yehliao which is another 2 hrs bus ride.... But the long journey is worth it.... the place is really nice with eroded rocks.... I will let the pix do the talking....

While on my way back to the hostel, i saw a lady wearing embroidered china shoes.... She was surprised when i approached her and asking her where she bought that shoes... So the next destination is to the embroidered shoe shop which is located in a small lane at Taipei Main Station which i can never find unless i asked passer-by.... Finally, i found the shop and bought 2 pairs of embroidered shoes.... Wanted to buy at least 3 but most of them do not have my size and i find it humorous when the owner say i got no taste!!! After that, i just roam about the shopping area around Main Station before i head back home ....

Solo Taiwan Trip - 1st Day

Date : 11th May'07

That was the start of my solo trip to Taiwan, Taipei..... I lost my way finding my hostel all because i hopped on the wrong bus. It's a lucky thing that i only carry a red bag-pack so don't really mind walking.

The hostel is on 8th sty.... I was welcomed by a group of men from different nationality.... Then met the owner by the name of Layte who happened to be a nice lady.... The room was simple and fuss-free... Can't expect much from USD25/day.... The shared toilet is clean as well so really can't complain much....

Since i reach the hostel around 1pm+, i decided to roam about taipei city....

First stop - Taipei 101... Walked a long way just to find the MRT coz the Taiwanese called it 'zi yun' then some passerby direct me to the train station. Luckily i found someone and she re-direct me again... what a day!!! I was really hoping that my next 3 days in Taipei would not be roaming aimlessly....

Taipei 101 is impressive... The elevator is the fastest in the world though i don't really appreciate the view since it is whole skyscrapers which i will see often in my country...

Bought belated b'day gift for my mum - a jade ring with gold embroidered lady bird.... Then send postcards to my nephews that never reach my home (sigh)..... For once, i am breaking my own boundary for being open and yet Taipei 101 disappoint me.....

Met nice passerby that stopped and talked to me because they are curious of my head-scarf..... While on my way back to the MRT, i met an Indonesian old man in the bus that happily talked to me in Bahasa Indonesia... What a day....

Next stop is the youngsters shopping area - Wufengpu.... There are soo many lanes of shops selling almost everything that i got confused and had headache.... Still, bought for myself 3 tops and a bag...ahhh...

Then i went back home coz feeling really tired and need some time to plan on my next day trip....